Three in the bed
by dark-nexus17
Summary: And the little one said, 'Please try to refrain from taking all of the bed sheets for yourself.' Nightmares are part and parcel of Team Free Will's lives, they take comfort in the solidity of one another.


**Title: Three in the bed**

**Pairings: Dean/Cas possibly, also sort of Wincestiel? IDK**

**Warnings: Post season 8 - so spoilers for the finale. Lots of cuddling, sort of pre-Dean Cas with a dash of possible Wincestiel. Cursing.**

**Summary: And the little one said, 'Please try to refrain from taking all of the bed sheets for yourself.'**

**Nightmares are part and parcel of Team Free Will's lives, they take comfort in the solidity of one another.**

**As usual, all mistakes are my own.**

**Also on ao3 and tumblr**

More often than not, Dean ends up with Cas in his bed. When the ex-angel actually accepts that he needs to sleep, he likes to curl up next to Dean, preferring not to be alone in what he describes as 'an uncomfortable state of vulnerability.' Admittedly, Dean gets where he's coming from; he's sort of missed the comfort that having another body in the room brings. Not that he doesn't appreciate having his own space for once in his life, he just feels safer with someone else there, someone he trusts. So far things have been pretty simple, or as simple as things ever are between him and Cas: he'll take the left side, Cas takes the right, and if they end up tangling together during the night, they don't mention it in the light of day. Dean had been somewhat wary of sharing with Cas at first, things were already pretty fucked up between them, and he could do with a little less awkwardness in his day to day life. He'd slept in the same bed as Sammy of course, plenty of times when they were younger, and occasionally when they were older to, for warmth or to chase their shadows away. But Sammy was his brother, and Cas was, well, Cas. Six feet of skinny fallen angel trapped in a vessel with next to no power. Besides, Dean had always been a bit of a sleep cuddler, gravitating towards whoever else was in the bed he happened to be sleeping in, and that was a little more awkward considering it was Cas next to him in the bed rather than Sammy. Now though, after a few weeks of acclimatising to another person in the bed, Dean had decided that he didn't mind sharing with his best friend, or whatever he was, though he'd never admit it to anyone. Sharing had its perks. He still had nightmares, with their job, who didn't? And since becoming human, Cas had begun to experience them too. Sleeping in the same bed meant that when one had a nightmare, the other could bring them out of it, talk it through, reassure the other that they weren't trapped inside whatever hell their subconscious had conjured up. In the dark it was easier to whisper, foreheads pressed together, arms clasped round each other. Things that went unsaid in daylight were discussed in the safety of the warm dark enveloping their room. The one drawback to this situation was that Dean couldn't keep a more watchful eye on Sam, who was still recovering from the trials, and who was also plagued by dreams of things he'd rather not dwell on. Unusually for them, this problem happened to sort itself out.

"Dean,"

"Whuh?" Dean mumbled, as he sat up and blinked the sleep from his eyes. He turned toward Cas, who was already awake and alert.

"Hey man," Dean said tiredly, "Nightmare?"

"No Dean," Cas said quietly, "Listen."

Dean paused, straining to hear whatever it was that had woken Cas.

"Cas, I don't ..." and then he heard it,

"No, no, please, don't, not again,"

"Shit," he muttered, pushing the bed covers back and climbing out of the bed.

"Sam must be having a bad one," he whispered to Cas, "I'll go wake him up. Go back to sleep."

Cas shook his head, already putting on the slippers he'd found and claimed for his own. Dean leads the way out of the room and down the corridor towards Sam's. It was only a couple of doors to the left of Dean's own room but it seemed like an eternity before he pushed his brothers door open, the dark punctuated by the sound of Sam's pleading. The dim light of the corridor showed Sam thrashing out at he slept, sweat matting his hair as he fought off whatever was taunting him.

"No, not Dean, please, not Dean!" he whimpered. Dean looked over at Cas who was wide eyed in the light coming through the doorway.

"C'mon," Dean said quietly, "You hold him so he doesn't end up hurting himself and I'll wake him."

They moved towards the bed, and Cas grabbed Sam's arms, which, in retrospect, wasn't the best idea, as it made things worse.

"Sam!" Dean said urgently, a hand on either side of his brother's face,

"Sammy it's me, it's Dean, you need to snap out of this, you're safe." His brother shot up suddenly, breaking free of Cas' hold and nearly headbutting Dean in the process.

"Woah, Sam," Dean said placatingly, placing a gentle hand on Sam's arm,

"It's just me and Cas Sammy, you're in the bunker, it's just us, you're safe."

"Dean?" Sam asked hoarsely,

"Yeah, it's me," Dean replied soothingly, pulling his younger brother into his arms, "It was just a nightmare."

"Sorry for waking you up," Sam mumbled into Dean's shoulder after a minute or two.

"No problem," Dean assured him, "What's family for 'ey? Besides, you woke up Cas, he's the one who woke me, so you can blame him." Dean glanced up at Cas, who was standing awkwardly at the side of the bed. He smiled at his friend, letting him know he was only messing with him.

"Thanks Cas," Sam said, letting go of Dean and running a hand through his hair, which was now matted at one side.

"Budge over," Dean told him, shoving Sam's shoulder lightly and lying down on the bed next to him.

"You don't need to stay Dean,' Sam said, "I'm not a kid."

"All part of the Dean Winchester family package," Dean quipped, settling down. He looked up at Cas, who was still hovering at the side of the bed. Cas moved to exit the room, but Dean grabbed him on the way past.

"Get down here Cas," he ordered, "There's enough room for all of us." He tugged on the sleeve of the top Castiel was wearing, urging him to lie down. Cas wavered, gaze flicking to Sam, who sighed.

"Cas, just get in the bed," Sam said, stifling a yawn,

"Yeah Cas, we're gonna have a sleepover," Dean added,

"Will I have to braid Sam's hair?" Cas asked, removing his slippers and climbing in next to Dean, who was chuckling.

"If you want man, but in the morning yeah? I'm beat" Dean said,

"He can do it while I'm asleep as long as he doesn't wake me up," Sam murmured, "Now shut up lovebirds, I'm going to sleep."

Dean rolled his eyes at Cas, and yawned widely, turning towards his borther. He felt Cas settle behind him, and then place an arm over his waist, his hand lightly brushing Sam's back. Dean leaned into the embrace, laying his own arm over Sam, and reaching for Cas' hand with the other.

"You good Cas?" he asked sleepily,

"Yes Dean, but could you please try to refrain from taking all of the bed sheets for yourself?"

Dean elbowed him, and was rewarded with a poke in the side.

"Seriously guys, shut up." Sam mumbled, "And you do steal the covers Dean." He added, drawing his brother's arm tighter around him.

"Fine," Dean muttered, settling in against Cas,

"Night," he whispered,

"Goodnight Dean," Came Cas' reply, and Dean drifted off into a pleasant sleep.


End file.
